Troubled youths face Rotorua marae justice | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

Rotorua youngsters in trouble with the law may soon find themselves being dealt with on a marae.

It's a concept that is being hailed as a great idea by Rotorua lawyers and kaumatua who say it will take Maori youths away from the "Pakeha system".

Under the current system around 75 young people, mostly Maori, have had Youth Court hearings on marae in Gisborne and Auckland.

A spokesman for New Zealand's Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft confirmed that Rangatahi Court (Youth Court on the marae) was planned for Rotorua, but he said he was unsure when. There had been no negotiations with local marae, he added.

The Ministry of Justice's general manager of district courts, Tony Fisher, said a Youth Court hearing on a marae would operate in the same way as it would in a courtroom with the same sentencing powers.

Rotorua lawyer and youth advocate Louis Te Kani said he thought holding Youth Court on a marae was a fantastic idea

"I think any initiative that can assist in [curbing] Maori youth offending is always a good initiative."

The marae was somewhere that Maori youth could identify with.

Mr Te Kani said he did not see using the marae as a venue as a "soft option".

"No I don't think it's an easy way. I think it's a harder way. Being told off by your elders is greater than any sanction of the court."

He said Youth Court hearings on the marae would mean a youth would have to be accountable to not only his whanau [family] but also to his iwi and hapu.

"It [Youth Court on the marae] will be another weapon in the arsenal of fighting youth offending."

He said most of the youth appearing in Youth Court in Rotorua were Maori and he hoped a Rangatahi Court would be in Rotorua sooner than later.

Mr Te Kani said if the initiative was a success for Maori he could see it being used by European and Pacific Island young people if they wanted to take up the option.

Long-time Rotorua lawyer and youth advocate Harry Edward said having Youth Court on the marae was nothing new.

He recalled travelling from Whakatane to Kawerau in the 1980s where Youth Court was held on a marae. It was an initiative set up by retired Youth Court Judge, David Wilson. Two years ago Judge Wilson called for the reintroduction of Youth Court on the marae, saying they had terrific feedback and results when the Youth Court was held at Kawerau's Rautahi Community Marae.

Te Waiariki Purea Trust kaumatua, Putu Mihaka, said he was in favour of having Rangatahi Court in Rotorua.

"It takes the young people away from the Pakeha system.

Even before they go into court they feel ostracised from society, which is not what we should be doing to them. It's about making them take responsibility for their actions and rehabilitating them," Mr Mihaka said.

"On the marae everyone is treated the same and it's about getting iwi, hapu and whanau involved in trying to find a way forward."

Mr Mihaka said the new system had proven successful in other areas and had shown judges were more open to new interventions in a marae environment.

"We have a lot of young Maori people who are going through our court system.

"There needs to be a process where Maoridom is involved to help bring down those numbers."

Mr Mihaka who has worked with troubled youth for more than 20 years said other iwi needed to be involved in the process in Rotorua.

"Two-thirds of the young people who go through the system are from outside Te Arawa. We have to be able to reconnect them with their iwi.

"It's important that Te Arawa have contacts with the other iwi from around the district."

Police Maori Advisory Board chairman Te Poroa Malcolm also supported a marae-based justice system for young people. "People and law enforcement are at the end of their tether. Crime seems to be escalating. Police do their best but it's time for the community to front up."

 Mr Malcolm said it was time for iwi, hapu and whanau to contribute to curbing the problem of young people committing crime.

"Confronting it on a marae is the best way of doing this. We have for centuries brought issues troubling Maori to the marae to try and resolve it. Why not do it with our young people?"